Coalescent
by Providentia67
Summary: Otherworld might be a terrible place to live, but it's the only home the 2Ps've got. When a new comet in the sky and monsters in the night steal the attention of the scheming nations, they turn their focus to a larger threat than next-door neighbors. '#%@ E.T. @%& *.' 'Steve, I don't care if you're livestreaming, I need your @ &#*& spaceship'
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

The punch was expected, and not well-thrown, but that didn't mean Alex's cheek wasn't going to smart when some giant brute threw all his weight behind a fist. His head snapped to the side and he worked his jaw against the ache of what might very well have been a missing molar.

"God dammit." He spat a wad of saliva and blood out onto the asphalt and let his head fall forward.

"Aw, pretty boy can't take a punch?" The yeti grabbed the lining of his bomber jacket and cocked his fist back again.

Alex's shoulders shuddered with his laughter and he peeked up at the human behind his cracked sunglasses. From the man's visible flinch, his red eyes were probably glowing in the dark of the alley. "You call that a punch, Tiny?"

Fuck, okay that one hurt a bit. Tiny sent two more punches which snapped the bridge of Alex's nose and knocked Texas clean off. He made a mental note to pick them up once the show was over. He heaved a couple open-mouth breaths.

Tiny tugged on his jacket a couple times and then stepped back. "Drop him."

Alex groaned as the two lackeys holding his shoulders and arms released their holds and let him slump face-down on the ground. "Ha-ugh… rude."

There was a whistling breeze through the air for a moment before something blunt but also laden with pointy objects came colliding down on his back. Damn them. "Ah, asshole. What kind of dick hits a man with his own bat?" It might as well have been blasphemy.

"Jesus, what does it take to kill this guy?" A boot came down on the back of Alex's head. "Freak." Another boot. He was really getting sick of this shit. "Boss, let's just put a bullet in him and be done with it. We sit here long enough and someone's bound to call the cops."

There were sounds of a minor struggle and someone getting shoved against a brick wall. "You want to run off?" that was Tiny again. "Go ahead. But we're getting paid to give this guy as much punishment as he can take. So, either grab that tire iron, or get the hell out of here." Metal scraped against asphalt and then a steel rod joined his lovely bat in crashing down on his back and shoulders.

Alex considered while this was happening, what he'd overheard. They were being paid, huh. Not surprising considering he would safely bet the three idiots standing over him maybe had six brain cells between them. But what was intriguing -fuck, that was a kidney- was that someone wanted this to be bloody. Well, -wow, Tiny was clearly offended by his good looks- at least that explained why the gangs in Alex's cities had been running amok recently. If someone had the balls to put a hit out on Alexander-fucking-Jones, they were either stupidly brave, or just stupid. Did they know who he was? What he was? Either way-

"O-kay, NOT the hair!" Alex snatched the wrist of the hand that had buried itself in his dark hair and crushed it beneath his fingers. Thing One with the tire iron screamed and Tiny and Thing Two both backed off. With the shattered wrist still in his hand, Alex climbed to his feet with an unsteady wobble and tilted his head back before reaching his free hand up and resetting his broken nose with a snap. He released Thing One, who promptly fell to his knees, arm cradled against his chest and crying like a baby. A twist of magic and a snapped neck put him down quick.

Thing Two looked ready to crap himself. "Holy shit."

"Oh fuck." So, did Tiny.

"Yeah," Alex cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders before bringing up both fists. "I'm done with this shit."

Tiny swung with his bat and Alex ducked beneath the swing then palmed his ugly face and pulled him down to meet his lifting knee. The impact left Alex's hand and jeans wet, but he ignored that for the moment, and let Tiny drop to round instead on the quivering form of Thing Two.

"Shit," the scrawny little human was shaking as he backed himself against a wall. "Please man, I don't want to die."

Alex blew his cowlick out of his face and gave a singular laugh as he bent over to collect Texas from the ground. "Should have thought about that before signing up with Tiny."

"Huh?" When the back of Thing Two's shirt grazed the rough brick of the alley his knees seemed to give and he collapsed onto his ass. "Oh god. Oh shit, dammit. Fuck!" He fumbled along the waist of his jeans and then pulled up a handgun. He managed to bring it to eye level with Alex before the irate nation grabbed it by the barrel and tore it from his hand.

"Haven't you heard?" Alex gripped the human by his jaw and hauled him back up to his feet, thumb pressed into his jugular. The human scrambled and pulled at Alex's arm, but for all his effort he might as well have gone after the nation with a flyswatter.

"Less piece, is more peace."

Alex let the human stew, periodically prodding at the delicate artery beneath his thumb and letting the stuttering oxygen flow to the man's lungs take their effect before dropping him to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The human coughed and hacked up half a lung before getting himself under control enough for Alex to even attempt an interrogation.

"Now," Alex planted his boot against the human's chest and pinned him to the wall. "Tiny mentioned you fucks were getting paid for this shit." A snap of his fingers and a spark of magic had Alex's bat flying into his hands. He pressed the blunt end cap under the human's chin. "Speak."

"I don't-" Alex shattered his left knee cap.

"Try again."

"I swear-"

"Say a word that isn't a name again and you lose the other knee. Then your dick."

"Okay, OKAY!"

Alex lowered his bat to a less threatening position and then urged the man along with a wave of his hand.

The human sniffled. "Bill-Tiny, was the one who met him. Not me. It was some corporate guy."

A muscle in Alex's jaw twitched and he resisted the urge to shiver at the chill that went down his spine.

"Not President Fuck Up, was it? Or a crazy sister?"

"What? No!" Oh, thank god. "Some fancy space tech corporation."

Alex quirked a brow and his lips twisted in a crooked grin. "Starfleet?"

"Huh?"

"Forget it," said Alex with a small sigh. "You were saying?"

Thing Two had a suspicious dark spot on his jeans. Poor little shit wet himself. "It was um, it was O-something. Orion! It was someone from Orion!"

Alex frowned. "You're sure?"

The human did his best bobble head impression and managed to look hopeful for a second before Alex pulled his bat back and delivered a single, solid swing. After that, what was left of Thing Two's face was smeared along ten feet of brick.

Alex let his bat rest against one shoulder and huffed. Orion. Some privatized NASA-wannabe from what he could remember. A furrow formed between Alex's eyebrows and he cast a wary glance upwards. Chicago skies weren't known for their clarity, but a muttered spell under Alex's breath sharpened his vision enough to see past the light pollution and into the twinkling pattern of constellations above.

His eyes were drawn on instinct to a bright orange, bordering on red, spot that hovered just over the crescent moon. A comet, a new one, that had appeared out of nowhere and suddenly had everyone in the space industry up in arms. Alex didn't know what all the fuss was about. He, Matt, and the rest of the nations as far as he could tell didn't much care for the cosmic eye sore. It wasn't part of their skies, wasn't even part of their Earth. The new comet was as foreign as you could get, and he. Did. Not. Like it.

Orion, a recent upstart of a science company focusing on producing smaller and more efficient satellites to monitor extra-terrestrials, had been over the moon with the discovery. And now, one of their employees had put a hit on him? They shouldn't even know he existed outside of _maybe_ rumors spread word of mouth about the undisputed leader of the United States' criminal underbelly.

Alex cast his gaze around the alley and considered the three bodies sprawled around him. He snapped his fingers again and let deep purple flames consume the evidence of what had taken place there. When that was well underway he dug out his cellphone and hit speed dial number three. It took three tries and thirty rings on the fourth before his call was picked up.

" _What?"_

"Matt, your ideas suck."

" _Come again,"_ there was an audible growl coming from the Canadian's side of the call.

"Remember when I mentioned some humans not so subtly tailing me?"

" _Uh, yeah?"_

"And you said to let them catch up and then find out what their deal was?"

" _I still don't understand why you're calling me, asshole."_

"Turns out some fucker put a hit out on me!"

Alex wasn't sure what he was expecting but, Matt's uncontrollable laughter on the other end was not one of his favored possibilities. "Fuck you, man!"

" _Don't be a pansy. Did you at least find out who it was?"_

Alex groaned. "Yeah sort of, I'll track him down, end him, send his dismembered limbs over to Ollie for Mother's Day. It'll be great."

" _Sounds like fun. But you still better have a good excuse for venting on me or I'll shove my hockey stick so far up your ass, Alfred will feel it."_

"Ugh, don't bring the Boy Scout up in my presence. And I did have a reason. You familiar with Orion?"

" _The constellation, or the company?"_

"The second one."

" _Sure."_

"Don't they have a branch at your place?"

Matt snorted. _"Of course, they do. They have branches at Louis' and Oliver's too. They're practically world-wide."_

"Huh. Right." Alex didn't wait for Matt to request more information and ended the call. He gave the unnamed comet in the sky the stink eye one moment longer before bouncing the bat on his shoulder and exiting the alleyway.

Fuck, he thought. If he was going to find whoever was out to get him at some fancy space company he was probably going to have to get a suit.

* * *

Oliver was in the kitchen, dough on the counter and flour plastered over his hands, slicing the fifth of six apples with swift and practiced knifework when the call came. The twinkling ringtone was soft and quieter than most, but just loud enough that the pink-haired Brit stilled his hands for a moment to answer and set the phone to speaker before resuming his work.

"Yes?"

" _Alex dealt with the assassins."_

Oliver giggled and slid the apple slices into a separate bowl filled with a deep red glaze. "Over-enthused human thugs hardly qualify as assassins, dear."He swiped a thumb along the lip of the bowl and sucked the glaze off. His eyelids fluttered at the delightful combination of sweet caramel and iron blood.

The voice on the phone huffed but didn't argue.

"Did he get anything useful out of the poor dears?" Oliver snatched a wooden spoon from the counter and started stirring the apple-glaze mix together.

" _No specific names. Just Orion."_

Oliver's hands stilled and he cocked his head to the side in quiet consideration before curling his lip in a grin.

"Orion, was it?" He tucked a loose strand of course pink hair behind one ear and peeked over his shoulder. "That is rather intriguing." He left his baking unattended for a moment and turned to crouch beside the pile of bodies resting over a deep blue tarp in the center of his kitchen. He fingered a patch over one of the more intact ones' shoulder and tugged it free.

" _Was there anything else?"_

Oliver ignored the voice on the phone and hummed as he took in the constellation pattern that made up the company logo before him.

"No, that'll be all. Thank you for keeping an eye on him."

A huff. _"Someone's got to do it. I'll keep a close tail, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."_

Oliver bared his teeth. "Careful, darling. That's my son you're talking about."

" _Of course."_

"Oh, and one more thing."

" _Hm?"_

"Are you familiar with this Orion business?"

The voice on the phone was quiet for a moment before finally responding. _"Not any company called Orion but, I do remember an incident several years ago. The evidence was covered up, but it coincided with the emergence of a comet."_

One of Oliver's eyebrows lifted and he stood to his feet. Out of the kitchen window, he spied the astral body in question. "Like the one hovering over us all right now?"

" _Exactly. The details might be a little hard to get at, but it was all classified under the same code word: PICTONIAN."_

The call ended shortly after that. Oliver spied the glowing spot in the blue sky a moment longer and then returned to his baking. "Well, Chocolate Bunny," he began, holding out a piece of glazed apple to the feral, winged rabbit perched over his spice rack. The spirit purred under the attention and attacked the treat with gusto. Oliver giggled and ran the knuckle of his index finger along the rabbit's spine and between its wings.

"We might need to seek consultation on this matter."

The call ended shortly after that. Oliver spied the glowing spot in the blue sky a moment longer and then returned to his baking. "Well, Chocolate Bunny," he began, holding out a piece of glazed apple to the feral, winged rabbit perched over his spice rack. The spirit purred under the attention and attacked the treat with gusto. Oliver giggled and ran the knuckle of his index finger along the rabbit's spine and between its wings.

"We might need to seek consultation on this matter."

With a lazy tug on the handle of a drawer, Oliver retrieved a clear glass jar and set it on the counter with a small thud. Flying Chocolate Bunny perked up at its contents, a confused squeak slipping free as its hackles raised. The rabbit bat at the jar twice before Oliver shooed it away with a wave of his hand. The spirit gone, he turned his eye on the being within. No more than two or three inches tall, a pale humanoid figure with two curling red horns, a black spaded tail, and dressed in what looked like black jeans and a jacket with a red shirt underneath, stood with arms crossed and an annoyed frown on its tiny face.

Oliver lowered himself enough to present the being with his toothy smile. "Now then, little demon."

The demon kicked the glass wall of its prison and red sparks flew from its arms and shoulders. "I've told you, dummkopf, I'm not a demon, I'm a Joker. A JOKER!"

"Sure, you are, little one," Oliver humored the thing with a nod then turned the jar on its side. He giggled as the pale demon scrambled to remain upright only to inevitably fall on its butt. "But first, why don't you tell me where you've come from."

The demon was not one of his, nor did he recognize it from monitoring the spectral planes of his other nations. And yet, the thing bore striking resemblance to what he had once known as the Kingdom of Prussia.

The joker stood to its feet, slightly stooped due to the new orientation of its prison. "Why?"

"Because," Oliver admitted. "It seems you may not be the only recent visitor to this world."

The little tidbit of information had its intended effect. Oliver controlled his expression as the joker, if it was even possible, turned even paler. "Then they are already here."

"Who." Oliver set the jar back upright, slow enough this time that the joker did not lose his balance.

"The ones who destroyed my world, Hoyle. And they'll destroy this world too unless we find a way to stop them."

Oliver sighed, and without further preamble stuck the jar holding the shrunken joker back in its drawer and shut it. He could still hear the little one's muffled protests but ignored them in favor of looking down at the distinct parts of what had promised to be a delightful blood-apple pie.

"Oh well," he scrapped it all in favor of heading down to his basement. "No rest for the wicked I suppose."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hi everyone! To those of you who don't know this is a sequel to my completed story _Dichotomous._ While it will make reference to things that happened in that story and certainly does function as a sequel you don't necessarily have to have read _Dichotomous_ to read this. And yes, there will be some cardverse as well. Hope you all enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

"My Queen, we've lost the west corridor." The palace shook as another strike from the infernal airships found its mark. The thin, sweat-soaked messenger in green's eyes fluttered between his liege and the closest exit from the great hall.

Elizabeta ground her teeth in frustration, but kept her face composed as she gave the young Three her attention. "Send for whatever reinforcements we have left; the west corridor must hold."

The messenger bowed. "Yes, your majesty." The three embroidered clubs on his tunic twisted with the movement. She watched the young man as he raced back out the way he came, and only turned to face her fellow royals when he turned a corner. At the far end of the hall on a raised dais, Ivan sat on the center throne, Roderich standing silent and grim to his left. In his hand, her king gripped his golden scepter, fingers tight. It was the only sign of the otherwise ever-smiling king's apprehension.

Elizabeta stalked right up to the base of the dais and laid her hand on the hilt of her sword. "Time runs short, my King, you must evacuate."

Roderich flinched, a full-bodied thing and cast a sidelong look to the King before returning his gaze to the window. Elizabeta didn't bother averting her attention, she knew what was out there. The frozen Kingdom of Clubs. Burning.

Ivan's reaction was not so obvious. He turned his quiet smile on his Queen and said in a quiet voice. "No."

Elizabeta set a single foot on the base level of the dais, her grip on her weapon tightening. "My King!"

"What point would there be in running, hm?"

Elizabeta was cut short of protest by the simple question. Her brown hair swished about her as she shook her head. "We must survive. For the sake of Clubs, we must continue until our allies-"

"WHAT ALLIES ELIZABETA!?" The Queen stumbled back a few steps as Ivan stood to his feet, bringing the base of his scepter to the ground with echoing authority. "Diamonds is in ruins. And our ambassadors say the body of the Queen of Hearts was found floating in the Claret River!"

"Then it's true." The trembling voice of the Jack settled the hackles of the two monarchs. Roderich had one hand in his hair and the other gripping his frock coat. "There is no hope."

Elizabeta shook her head. "I refuse to believe that." She turned back to her king. "Call to Spades."

Ivan closed his eyes and sighed. "Eliza."

"King Alfred may not heed your call, but I am friends with Queen Arthur. The Fleet of Nines is powerful, it could be enough to turn the tide."

Whatever Ivan might have said to that, Elizabeta did not hear. There was a tingling at the back of her neck and olive sparks of magic danced along her arms. A warning. "Roderich, protect the king!" Elizabeta pushed Ivan back towards the dais and then turned on her heel, drawing forth her sword in one smooth motion. "Declare yourself!"

For a moment, there was only silence. Then, out of the shadows, a sole figure emerged. Elizabeta stepped forward, moving to intercept the intruder with as much distance between them and Ivan left as possible.

The figure did not react as the tip of her blade was thrust under their chin. "You have powerful instincts, Queen of Clubs," the figure stepped back and inclined their head in respect. "I am eager to face it."

Elizabeta kept her sword raised in a steady point in line. Around her, she could feel Ivan's magic crackle to life, suffusing the space with the Windfall, the luck magic of Clubs. It bent the space to support her, as she made ready for the stranger's attack.

"You will pay for the blood you have spilt in my kingdom this day."

The figure smiled. "We shall see."

As expected, the intruder attacked first, darting forward and dodging to avoid the point of the Queen's blade. Elizabeta smirked. The stranger's steps faltered as Windfall took effect and slickened their footsteps. As the stranger slipped, Eliza saw the opening she needed. A neck exposed. With a graceful sidestep and an approving nod from Ivan, the Queen of Clubs brought her sword to bear and swung down to behead their would-be conqueror.

The intruder never stopped smiling.

The sword passed through flesh and bone, to clatter unstained against the stone floor of the hall and fall out of Eliza's grip.

"Impossible." If her Jack hadn't said it, Elizabeta would have. She backpedaled half the distance to the dais as the stranger regained his footing and straightened his strange clothes. "The Queen's strike was true; you should be dead."

"A valiant attempt," the figure allowed. "Though primitive." They plucked the sword from the ground and gave it a test swing against their wrist. It phased right through.

Elizabeta retreated another step. "How?"

The stranger tossed the weapon aside. "It would serve no purpose to attempt an explanation. Now," the figure raised its hand and Eliza felt pressure around her throat. The Queen attempted to bolster her magic to break the hold, but there was no time as the figure approached and set their hand around her throat instead. "Down to business."

"You will release her, yes." Despite the lack of air, Elizabeta managed to focus enough to hear Ivan stand to his feet and advance. She could imagine him brandishing his scepter as one would a halberd or a quarterstaff.

The figure seemed amused. "Foolish king." More figures emerged from the shadows, these smaller, almost animalistic. They rushed past Eliza and the figure who held her and swarmed towards her king and jack. She could hear them fighting.

They turned their eyes back on her. "Prepare yourself, this will be painful."

"For you maybe." A most annoying laugh echoed about the hall.

Eliza could have wept for joy as a blur of black, red, and white swept the figure away from her and came to stand in a protective crouch before her. As her knees collapsed beneath her a long and wiry spaded tail came up to brush against her cheek.

"Joker," she said. "Gilbert."

The pale-haired Joker turned towards her in a flourish and swept his arms in a dramatic bow. Red eyes sparking with mischief. "Mein Queen."

Eliza's lips twisted in a grin and she climbed to her feet. "You've come to our aid then?"

"Always." Red sparks glittered around the spectral being and with a wave of his arms the smaller creatures collapsed upon themselves. Gilbert turned back to the intruder, his face turned down in uncharacteristic solemnity.

The figure looked unimpressed. "An impressive display, but hardly a threat."

"Kese. You really don't know what I am, do you?"

The empty eyes of the intruder returned to Elizabeta and didn't leave. "I am familiar with your kind. We encountered a smaller one when we visited your Western Kingdom."

Gilbert's tail went limp. The only sign of his distress. "Peter?" The figure shrugged and started maneuvering themselves around Gilbert for a direct shot at Eliza, but the Joker moved to intercept. Gilbert seethed. "What did you do?"

"It hardly matters. Now if you don't mind, the Queen."

Gilbert bared his teeth, "No." He charged, magic gathering at the joker's very fingertips as he struck at the intruder. The attack didn't faze through this time. The exchange was short and brutal, but the figure eventually lifted a hand and caught Gilbert's wrist before flinging him across the hall and into the stone wall.

"Foolish creature," the figure tutted. "I defeated the armies of the King of Spades and devoured the heart and powers of his Queen before his very eyes. Your petty magic tricks are no match for me." With another vague gesture, Gilbert was plucked from the ground by invisible hands and thrown across the room again.

Elizabeta couldn't just sit and watch. As the Joker struggled to regain control of the fight, Eliza plucked her fallen sword from the ground and started to feed it every spark of magic she had.

"Eliza, don't." Roderich might have had better luck speaking to Ivan's throne, for the Queen of Clubs took no heed. When Gilbert finally managed to land another blow and wrap his tail around the intruder's neck she charged. And with a battle cry of vengeance for her fellow Queens she plunged the bespelled weapon into the monster's chest.

The room froze as the figure staggered in shock and dropped the grip he had of Gilbert's neck. The Joker fell to the ground, shock etched into the pale lines of his face as Elizabeta gaped at her own success.

The figure gripped the wrist of her sword hand and stared at her. Then, the circle of shock on their mouth shifted in a twisted grin. "My thanks for making this so easy." With a grunt the intruder wrenched Eliza's hand from her weapon and twisted until bone crunched beneath his grip. Eliza screamed and collapsed to her knees. Then figure used their free hand to pull the sword free and drop it to the ground.

The same hand was then plunged into Eliza's chest and wrapped around her heart.

"ELIZA!" Gilbert was back on his feet, but a wave of the stranger's hand sent him flying back again.

Elizabeta wasn't sure how she was still able to think or speak, but the spark of life was still in her and she used it to impart a last warning to the only one with a chance of survival. She turned her head from the monster to her Joker and said one word.

"Run."

"Eliza." Gilbert's every instinct railed against running from the fight. But as the world-eater pulled their hand free of Elizabeta's chest, her then-beating heart in his hands, he knew there was no choice. All around him he felt the life magic of Hoyle begin to fail. The four Queens, Lily, Kiku, Arthur, and now Elizabeta were dead, and with them the rest was sure to follow. Color leached from the Emerald Palace of Clubs and he saw out of the corner of his eye, the King and Jack collapsing. His world was lost.

The stranger took an object from their clothing and spoke into it. "This world is finished. Find me another." Then in a flair of blue, they disappeared.

Gilbert considered letting himself die with whatever remained of the people of Hoyle. But the thought of more worlds falling to the being that killed his Queen filled the Joker with unparalleled rage. With a snap of his fingers a red portal opened itself before the Joker, the effort draining much of his remaining power. And with a last look at his world and Eliza's abandoned body, he jumped through. Praying to whatever remained of Club's luck that he would be sent to the right place.

* * *

 **Two Weeks Later**

"I still don't see why you get to have all the fun tonight."

The quirk to Alexander's lips twitched upwards an extra centimeter and he ignored the quasi-abused mumbling of his brother in favor of pulling taught the lapels of his suit jacket, which he left unbuttoned and pulled crisp across his broad shoulders. He spied himself in the full-length mirror set askew in the corner of the van. As far as his opinion was concerned, Alex thought he looked quite dashing with his mussed brown hair and full-black ensemble. He checked the length of his sleeve cuff and tilted his head up as Matthieu went to arrange the collar of his black shirt.

"Well first off," he said, smacking away the Canadian's hands as they went to button the four uppermost buttons of the shirt -he left those open for a reason, moron- "I'm owed. Francis and Blondie might have cut me off last time, but hell if I'm not getting myself a dance with a hot Brit." As Matt finished brushing the lint from his shoulders Alex loosened the crick in his neck and took view of his profile.

"Damn," said Matt, eyeing him up and down. "We do look good in a suit."

Alex nudged the Canadian out of the way with an elbow. "Shut up. I pull it off better."

Matthieu huffed and turned his back to fiddle with a box of half-ready equipment and flipped Alex off as he did so. "We're twins, asshole."

"And yet somehow," Alex quirked a brow and grinned at his own reflection. "I still pull it off better."

"Whatever. Back to why you get to hang out at a fully-catered party and I have to cram myself in a van that's sized for midgets?"

Matt came back around and handed Alex an earpiece, which the American slid into his ear. Alex said, "Someone's got to do it. And between you and me, let's be honest, I'm better in the field."

"Only because you wouldn't last a second as someone's voice in the ear. You'd drive them insane." A protest was on Alex's lips, but he stalled as Matt handed him a case of brown contact lenses. "You going to need those tonight?" Alex considered the case in his hands. On the one hand, it would certainly draw less attention than a pair of red eyes like the ones that stared back at him in the mirror. But on the other-

"Nah," Alex flipped the case closed and tossed them back into Matt's awaiting hands. "Let's go au natural, tonight." He expected Matt to argue, but if that was the intent, the Canadian never got the chance as a sharp banging rapped against the locked double doors behind them.

"If you haven't noticed, we're running late!" came the sharp, silken voice from outside the van.

With one last flourish in Matthieu's direction as his older twin got settled before the assortment of computer monitors in the front of the van, Alex asked, "How do I look?"

Matt didn't look back and began starting up the communications array. "Like a fancy idiot, now get out there."

Alex turned and gave a quick wave. "Fuck you too."

"I hate you."

"Whatever you say, sugarplum."

"I'll dye your hair pink-!"

The van doors slammed shut behind Alexander with a satisfying thud and he turned a sheepish grin on the petite Englishwoman standing arms akimbo, hip cocked, and leaning against the glossy black pole of a flickering lamppost to his left. She, in turn, smirked back. "Hello, Alex."

"Hey, Artie." He stepped up to her, propped a forearm against the lamppost about a foot above the woman's head, and leaned just slightly into her personal space. "Or I guess, Alice."

"You're late," she said, slipping out from under him with a deft sidestep and a flourish of her black dress. The admonishment might as well have been the brush of a feather though, for all the harm it did. Alex chuckled as he watched Alice walk about in her ankle-length, sheath-style dress. It was a wonderful black beauty with a stitching of red lace forming an assortment of thorny roses from hip to breast along her right side. It made a stark contrast to her alabaster skin and golden hair, tied up in a collection of messy curls that left her shoulders and neck exposed.

" _Keep it together, Al. You're going to start drooling if you're not careful. Although, I get why you didn't want the contacts now. It's adorable. She dressed to match your eyes."_

One of Alice's burnished gold eyebrows climbed up her forehead as she listened. "A friendly reminder, Matthieu. This is an open channel."

" _Oh."_

There was silence on the radio and Alice and Alex were left to share a grin with only the hair-rifling breeze and slight, drifting echo of music flowing from the nearby party. "He's right you know," Alice said, stepping forward to loop her arm in Alexander's. "I did dress to match you. If we're going in as a couple, it only makes sense." With the added inches of her cut-out stiletto heels, Alice stood just beneath Alex's shoulder, still a fair few inches below her height in male form.

"Huh." Alex blew a whiff of air up his face to displace his cowlick and cocked his head in consideration as they strode toward the concert hall that had been converted to hold the party the duo was there to attend. "Here I figured you'd dress in green. It is your usual color." He flashed a pair of fixed invitations and held the door open for Alice to step through.

"Thank you. And yet," Alice twisted to smirk at Alex over her shoulder. "You're still dressed in black and red." She reached her left hand out to poke at the square of red cloth tucked into his breast pocket.

Alex caught the Englishwoman's wrist as she retracted her hand and used it to lead her forward towards the collection of milling couples spread across the open floor. "Sweetheart," he said. "I march to the beat of no one's drum but my own."

Alice's laughter sent a trail of giddy tingles down Alex's spine as she slid into his hold, a collection of manicured nails tracing the back of one of his shoulders as they started to step in time with the music. "That is a shame," she said gently nudging him to lead them in the direction of a darkened corner. "I think you'd look good in my colors."

The spark in Alex's eyes were paired with a wolfish grin.

"Better than Blondie, that's for sure." They drifted into silence, casing their surroundings as they danced with the rest of the party guests. Three songs later, Matt made contact.

" _Okay guys, we're up and running. Target's on the second floor, suite number 286."_

Alex glanced down to meet Alice's eyes and upon receiving a nod, let the hand on her hip drop while the other laced itself through her fingers and started tugging her towards the grand staircase. "On it Matt."

They breezed their way across the dance floor, and Alex was impressed at Alice's ability to keep up with his lumbering strides considering how petite her body was and how precarious her heels looked. "You good for this?" he asked as they started up the marble steps.

A tinge of pink dusted Alice's cheeks as she hiked up a portion of her dress skirt and propelled herself up. She sent him a quick glare and returned her focus to each next step. "Worry about yourself, idiot. I spent the better part of the fifteenth century running around in worse outfits than this." And with that, she stole the lead and allowed Alex an advantageous view of her rear as Alice rounded the curved hand rail to bound up the last steps to the second floor.

Alex grinned as he followed. "Impressive."

Alice settled into a more comfortable gait as she turned down a hall and started following room numbers. "Matt," she started, muttering pretending to fix an earring to mask her words from the occasional passersby, "what should we be expecting in there?"

" _Nothing out of the ordinary, biometric scanner on the door, maybe a couple of your standard body guards, tripwire to a small explosive, the usual."_

"You do recall that I'm not from Otherworld, right?" Alice cast a glance back to Alex to which he responded with a wink. "How often do you boys get in to this kind of shit?"

" _Eh,"_ Alex could imagine Matt shrugging to himself. _"Pretty regularly. I mean, the setting's a bit high class for the normal stuff, my focus is usually on poachers and various trafficking rings. And Al's got his gangs to keep under control. We usually don't deal with this kind of governmental shit."_

Alice hummed as she peeked around a corner and held up a hand. "Then what's special about this?"

Alex shrugged from his position hovering over Alice's shoulder. He saw two redshirts standing on either side of the room they needed to get into. "Favor to Ollie, said he needed something they've got holed up in there."

"Right." Alice narrowed her eyes, and Alex caught a quick flare of phantasmal green light in her eyes. "They're both armed. Quite heavily, in fact."

Alex nodded and let one of his hands come down over Alice's shoulder to make her aware of his presence. "I see it. Want me to take them out?"

Alice considered for a moment. "Is there any version of 'your way' that doesn't include alerting every human within a half-mile radius of bodily harm?"

" _Definitely not."_

"Shut up, Matt."

Alice chuckled to herself and brushed Alex's hand from her shoulder. "I thought not. Let me handle it."

" _Ooh, this ought to be good."_

Alex shushed his brother with vitriol, and shifted into a more ideal position to watch. Alice's steps were lupine and light as a feather as she stepped into the hall and caught the attention of the watchers. Big guy #1 elbowed his partner the instant he spotted the petite woman and they both nodded to her with nothing platonic in their eyes. Alice nodded back before coming to a stop before them both.

"Evening gentlemen."

"Ma'am," said Big #2. He cleared his throat and shared a slightly distressed look with his partner over Alice's head. Both men were well over six feet tall, head and shoulders above Alice's five foot two.

Alex couldn't see her expression, but he watched as Alice slid her hands behind her back, masked as a trick to push her chest forward, and gripped two flat hilts that had been pleated into the open back of her dress. "And why are you two hiding up here when there's a perfectly good party downstairs?"

Never was Alex more pleased by his people's distinct fascination for an English accent. They both were sporting healthy flushes to their cheeks and brought their hands up from their neatly masked holsters to rub at the backs of their necks.

" _Dude, your humans are such saps for anything with an accent. It's sad."_

"Don't care. You're just jealous because no one gets hard for a Canadian accent."

" _Fuck you."_

"No."

It happened so quick Alex nearly missed it in his moment of distraction. As soon as Big #1 and Big #2 had their hands away from any kind of weapon, Alice drew two curved daggers out from her dress and across the men's throats.

" _Fuck, those things must curve perfectly around her ass."_

The humans stood stock still for a moment before making weak gagging noises and moving their hands up to try and stem the waterfalls of red falling from their slashed voice boxes. They collapsed seconds later and Alice wiped the blood from her weapons on Big #2's suit jacket before returning them to their hidden sheaths and whistling for Alex to join her.

He came bounding like a dog and didn't even feel bad about it. He came to a halt at Alice's side just as she was finishing fixing the flyaway locks of her hair. She side-stepped and gestured to the door and the biometric scanning pad. "I'm assuming neither of these two have clearance. Care to do the honors?"

Alex grinned. "It'd be my pleasure." Taking one step forward for momentum, Alex kicked his foot through the lock of the door and sent the rest of it swinging open in a muted silence. A side glance to Alice's softly glowing eyes queued him in to what was probably a noise-cancelling spell. They shared a grin and entered.

The room was a simple suite, a small kitchenette and sitting area with two doors on opposite sides leading to different bedrooms. Four men in suits sitting around a coffee table surged to their feet from plaid couches the moment he and Alice entered. They went stumbling back as a collection of their bodyguard lifted their guns and fired.

Past the threshold of the room sound returned and Alex stepped behind Alice as she lifted her hand and caught the bullets flying towards them without even speaking an incantation. A twist of her wrist and the projectiles went flying back, striking the same people who fired them and sending them to the ground.

Alex laughed a full-throated battle cry and charged forward in the bullets' wake, summoning his bat to his hand from a pocket-dimension and bringing it to bear on the four men who remained. From the room to the right two more men with guns appeared. They moved to attack, but a discarded handgun went flying from the ground into Alice's hand and she shot each of them down with a single bullet to the head. She and Alex waited several seconds and listened for the sound of anyone else who might appear but nothing came.

Slowly, they both lowered their weapons and Alice even twisted her lips into a cute little pout. "You know," she said, setting her stolen gun on the kitchenette counter. "When you called me for help I was expecting more of a fight."

Alex shrugged and kicked one of the suited men off the coffee table. "You saying you didn't have fun?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "That's not what I said."

There was a single, heavy-armored suitcase on the coffee table the men were sitting around and Alex crouched down beside it and flipped it open. Alice moved to join him and hovered just behind his shoulder. "What's that?" she asked.

"Not sure," Alex opened the case all the way to reveal a piece of square machinery he couldn't make heads or tails out of. "But it's what Ollie asked for so…" He lifted the case and turned it this way and that trying to find some hint of its purpose. The only point of interest either of them could see was the clear dome set in the middle and a series of buttons to the right.

"Well in that case," said Alice bracing her hand on Alex's shoulder. "Pack it up and let's get out of here before someone notices the mess we made."

Alex waved her off. "Nah, just a sec." He reached for one of the buttons. "I just want to-" he hit one, and the case began to bleep, the clear dome flashing blue. "Ah hell."

Alice hissed. "Bollocks." The grip on Alex's shoulder tightened and nails dug in. "What the bloody hell did you just do?"

"I don't know!" Alex pressed the button again, but nothing stopped. Worse, a high-pitched whine started to sound from the box as well.

"Turn it off!"

Alex pushed another button, but nothing changed. "I can't!"

"Damn it all." Alice shoved Alex aside and in one smooth move summoned the handgun from the table and aimed it at the case.

"Wait, don't!" Bringing up the possible retribution of Oliver not getting the undamaged goods he asked for turned out not to be necessary, as the blinking and whining from the box stopped all at once.

"Huh?" The two nations stared at the box, Alice with gun still trained, in a confused stupor.

Then there was a blur of black-and-blue, and something big, burly, and with way more than two arms came flying out of nowhere tackling Alice off her feet, and straight through the second-floor window.

Alex stumbled to his feet. "Artie!" He rushed to the window and looked down to see Alice wrestling with something on top of her.

" _Al, get down there. Now."_ Oh right, Matt was still there.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Alex kicked aside some of the glass still clinging to the window frame and then jumped down. The fall was a little hard on his knees, but he remained standing and swung his bat with full strength at the _thing_ trying to strangle Alice.

It went flying with a wounded howl into the brick wall of the hotel and Alex offered his hand to Alice and helped her up. She was mess. A trickle of blood flowing from a cut on her forehead and with bruises already forming on her shoulders and arms. Her right arm, the one she hadn't used to take his hand, was clearly dislocated at the shoulder.

"The hell is that thing?" she demanded, shoving her shoulder back into place with dull crack. Alex pushed her back with his palm on her abdomen and stepped in front.

"I have no fucking clue."

Together they observed the monster as it freed itself from the wall. The thing was at least partially humanoid, but its head was curved almost like a dog, and its face split into four distinct mandibles. On its torso, six burly arms scrambled at the pile of bricks around it as it struggled to its feet.

"Ugly little fucker isn't he."

"Agreed."

" _I don't know Al, he kinda reminds me of you."_

Alex gagged. "Shut up Matt."

Alice was still breathing hard, but flung the loose hairs from her face and slipped the heeled shoes from her feet. "I take it back," she said using one of her daggers to cut a slit from the thigh to the hem of her dress. "This night just got a lot more interesting."

The dog-thing was almost fully free from the debris and Alex brought his bat up to a ready stance. "Just for the record, when I promised a good time, this wasn't what I meant."

The creature charged, and Alex swung for its head in a neat arc. The creature's mandibles snapped around the spiked end and Alex froze in shock as the bat was ripped from his grip and crushed.

He gasped. High-pitched and watery. "My baby~."

Alice pushed the creature back with a kick to its sternum while it was distracted. "Pull yourself together man." If her words didn't do it, the fluttering of her cut skirt certainly did. Alex blinked and shook his head. Making a mental note to mourn his weapon later.

"Right." Alex tackled the monster to the ground, grappling with it with one hand while the other kept its head and snapping jaws away from his face.

"Alex, knife!" Without looking, Alex raised his hand, palm open, and Alice tossed him one of her two daggers.

Gritting his teeth against the bite of the monster's many clawed arms digging into his chest and sides, Alex caught the knife and plunged it into the creature's neck before proceeding to sever its head from its body. Black blood splattered against Alex's face and clothing and he spat before rolling off the limp form.

Both he and Alice were panting. Nerves shot from the unexpected turn their mission had taken.

" _Well that was… different."_

Alex huffed. "You're telling me."

Alice pushed herself forward and with a few muttered words her eyes began to glow. "I've never seen anything like it. In your world or mine."

"Trust me, it's not one of ours." Alex glanced around, taking in the few scattered pixies and wisps that were loitering in the streets. As he suspected, they gave no reaction to what the nations were doing.

" _Did it come from the box thing?"_

"Oh right!" Alex clapped his hands together and summoned the strange box from the hotel room above them into his hands. "We should get out of here before someone sees."

"What about this?" Alice nudged the dead creature with one of her discarded heels.

Alex shrugged. "I'll pack it up, don't worry. I'm sure Ollie will want to have a look at it."

"In that case, I think I'll tag along," said Alice. "It's not every day a nation sees something new."

Somehow Matt jumped to respond even before Alex did. _"Sure thing. We've got a spare seat in the van."_

Alex didn't feel the need to add anything more, so he handed the box off to Alice and turned to gather the remains of the strange creature. For a second, he allowed himself to revel in the sweet taste of victory. Of his brother in his ear, his father's approval waiting in the wings, and Arthur at his back. The next, it all drained away.

He could see the box flare again from his peripheral vision, and then in an instant the space above the monster flashed blue and a new creature stood before him. This one was far more human-looking. With two legs, two arms, and one head with a standard mouth. But even still, the thing was different, odd, and something instinctive in Alex recoiled against it. Behind him, he could hear Alice drop the box in her hands and hiss in disgust.

"Alex." He didn't let her finish. Alex backpedaled one step after another and pushed Alice behind him and away from the _thing._

Its skin was tinted the same bluish color as the dog monster, and each of its hands had an extra finger. It -or was it a he?- took one look around the surrounding area and then settled its gaze on the two nations before him.

"Are you the vessels of this world?"

Alex shuddered at the sound of his language pouring from the thing's mouth. "The fuck are you talking about, freak?"

The creature didn't respond at first, but tilted its head in mild curiosity as he spotted Alice peeking around Alex's shoulder.

"You," he said, and Alice stepped around Alex to stare the creature down. "You seem familiar."

Alice scoffed, and she adjusted her grip on the handgun she must have recovered. "Not likely. Though, is it possible I was a man at the time?"

The creature considered for a moment. "Ah," he said. "Indeed, you are the image of the Queen of Spades."

" _The Queen of what now?"_

Alex didn't like this one bit. "Alright, that's it. Time to die." Fist cocked, the American charged the strange creature and swung.

The creature didn't move, and Alex found himself stumbling through an incorporeal form as he went to make contact. He could hear an audible gasp from Matt in his ear, and made shocked eye contact with Alice on the other side of the alley.

The small British woman stepped back and raised her hands, palms glowing. "Alex, you alright?"

"Fine."

The stranger cast his glance from Alice to Alex. "Strange," he said. "You resonate with the same magics as this world. And you," he turned back to Alice, "of another."

" _What the hell is this guy?"_

Alex growled. "Don't know, don't care. How do I kill him?"

It was Alice who found the solution. A muttered incantation and a flash of green were all that were needed and the creature went flying backwards and tumbled to the ground. Alice grinned a set a hand on her cocked hip. "I don't know Alex, it wasn't that hard."

The creature climbed back to his feet, his too-wide mouth stretched in a snarl. "Insolent creature."

Alex grunted. "Kay, magic works. Got it." From there the three flew into a frenzy. Alice was by far more proficient in the arcane arts than Alex, but together they managed to bloody their mystery monster with relative ease. Alice drawing the brunt of the creature's attention while Alex threw in his occasional support.

It worked for a while, but soon the creature managed to get in close quarters, too close for Alice's ranged attacks. Quick to adapt, Alice conjured a misting green blade into her palm and swung. The creature caught the blade in his palm.

Alice's eyes went wide as the ethereal weapon shattered in the monster's grip. "Fuck me." The creature struck her once square in the gut and then again at the side of her head, sending the petite blond crashing to the ground in a dull heap.

"Alice!" Alex sprinted towards the pair, but only just got close enough to try and reach for Alice when the creature blew him back with another invisible blast of power. He watched from the pile of brick he'd fallen on as the thing grabbed Alice by the mess of her hair and pulled her upright. Alice groaned, tearing at the monster's wrist with one hand while the other attempted to drive her remaining dagger into the creature's chest. It phased through, just as Alex's fist had.

"So, there are even more worlds for me to devour, hm?" The creature studied Alice with mute curiosity and Alex felt a chill go down his spine.

" _Al, you've got to do something quick."_

Alex found himself silently agreeing and spotted the large reflective window of a store across the street from them. Just five, maybe ten meters away. "Matt, I'm gonna need back up soon."

" _I'm already on my way. Just don't get dead."_ There was radio silence then, and Alex focused on preparing for the spell he'd never done without help.

"Hey, ugly!" The creature stopped its assessment of Alice and turned to him. Sending a wave of magic towards the bricks around him and started flinging them at the creature. The thing seemed amused and dropped Alice to the ground and deflected the oncoming projectiles. Alex ran for her, looping her arm over his shoulders and supporting her by the hip before running out of the alley and towards the window he'd spotted earlier.

"Thank you for the assist," Alice laughed, hissing as the movement caused pain. "We need to end this quick."

A nod from Alex. "Yeah I know. But for right now, you're benched."

Alice jerked her head. "Wait, what?"

They reached the window and Alex slapped a palm to its surface. The window rippled and blurred into an opaque vortex. "I'm sending you home."

Alice tightened her grip on Alex's shoulder. "No."

"Sorry sweetheart, too dangerous." With Alice's protests ringing in his ears Alex shifted his grip and shoved her through the portal that would send her back to her universe. Only when the portal closed with Alice safely on the other side did her turn back to the creature who'd ruined his night out.

"Let's dance, big boy."


End file.
